- NASCAR's ban on Confederate flags at races appears to be working.
- During one recent NASCAR race, we did not see any Confederate flags.
- We did see many anti-Biden "Let's Go Brandon" flags as NASCAR fans mix politics and sports.
AUSTIN — Confederate flags were banned from NASCAR events in June 2020, and some fans have seemingly started to get behind a new pennant — one that is unabashedly mixing politics and sports.
At this weekend's NASCAR race at the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, a walk through the car and RV parking lots revealed how effective NASCAR's ban on Confederate flags has been. Among the vehicles for the estimated 70,000 fans, not a single Confederate battle flag or any other flag representing the South's fight during the Civil War was spotted.
But one banner that was conspicuously popular appeared to be the anti-Joe Biden "Let's Go Brandon" flags.
Several fans were also seen wearing "Let's Go Brandon" t-shirts inside the track.
"Let's Go Brandon" has become an anti-Biden rallying cry that originated at a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in October 2021, when Brandon Brown was interviewed following his win at Talladega Speedway in Alabama. The crowd began to chant, "Fuck Joe Biden," but the interviewer, mishearing the cheering, believed the fans were yelling, "Let's Go Brandon." The clip of that exchange went viral, and the misunderstanding quickly became a euphemism among people who disapprove of Biden.
The popularity of "Let's Go Brandon" flags has not been limited to this one race in Texas either. The flags have been photographed at the NASCAR championship race outside Phoenix Raceway in November, as well as outside the Daytona 500 earlier this year.
Somebody even flew a "Let's Go Brandon" banner above a NASCAR race last season.
The show of anti-Biden flags does suggest that NASCAR fans seem unafraid to make a political statement.